Cleaning and Maintaining the HP Deskjet 900 Series Printer

Introduction

This document will explain how to clean and maintain the HP Deskjet 900c series printer and print cartridges. Since this document contains instructions, it may be advisable to print it out as a reference.

Printer case exterior

Inkjet printers print by spraying a fine mist of ink from the print head onto the paper. In some situations, small amounts of ink from the printing process may be deposited on the printer case and become visible over time. If this situation occurs, the exterior of the printer can be clean with a soft cloth moistened with water to remove ink deposits, dust, smudges, and fingerprints (see Figure 1 below). A mild detergent may be used if necessary on the exterior. Do not use harsh household cleaners as they may damage the finish on the printer case.

Printer interior

All Inkjet printers produce a small amount of ink residue that may build up inside the printer's case. This is normal. There is no need to clean this residue. Platen cleaners or alcohol may damage the HP Deskjet printer and should not be used. Cleaning the interior of the printer should be limited to cleaning only the print cartridges. Do not clean anything else inside the printer unless specifically instructed to do so. Keep all liquids away from the inside of the printer.

CAUTION: Do not clean or lubricate the carriage rod. Cleaning or lubricating the rod may reduce its life. The ink present on the rod will not hinder the operation of the product.

NOTE: The carriage rod is the shaft inside the printer that the print cartridges move back and forth on.

Accumulations of paper or lint should be carefully removed by brushing the loose material onto a cloth or by using a small computer vacuum cleaner.

Cleaning the HP Inkjet print cartridges can improve the quality of printing. If a printed page is missing lines or dots, perform the steps detailed in the "Correcting missing lines or dots" (click here
) section of this document below.

If a printed page has streaks of ink on it, click here
to skip to the steps detailed in the “Eliminating ink streaks” section.

A page prints that shows the results of the first cleaning. If the print quality is good, click Done. Click Intermediate Clean to do a more thorough cleaning and continue to the next step.

Another page prints that shows the results of the intermediate cleaning. If the print quality is good, click Done. Click Prime, to prime the print cartridges and continue to the next step.

A third page prints that will show the results of the priming. If the print quality is good, click Done. Click Clean Again to clean the print cartridges again. If the print cartridges are not clean after this last test, they may be faulty and need to be replaced.

Macintosh

Double-click the HP Deskjet 900 series Utility icon in the Utilities folder on the main directory of the hard drive.

Click the Clean panel button, then click the Clean button and follow the instructions displayed on the screen.

Cleaning the cartridges using the Front Panel of the HP Deskjet 900c series printer

Press and hold the POWER button, then press the CANCEL button twice.

A page prints that shows the results of the first cleaning. If the print quality is still poor, proceed to the next step.

Press and hold the POWER button. While holding the POWER button, press the CANCEL button twice, then the RESUME button once.

Another page prints that shows the results of the intermediate cleaning. If the print quality is still poor, proceed to the next step.

Press and hold the POWER button. While holding the POWER button, press the CANCEL button twice, then the RESUME button twice.

A third page will print that shows the results of the advanced cleaning.

If this process does not improve the print quality, the HP Inkjet print cartridges may be low on ink. If able to use the HP Toolbox, check the level of ink in the cartridges by opening the HP Toolbox and clicking the Estimated Ink Level tab. Replace the HP Inkjet print cartridges if appropriate. Also, dust fibers will occasionally drag through the ink and streak it. If cleaning the cartridges does not correct the streaking, try the steps in the next section.

Eliminating ink streaks

If the HP Deskjet 900c series printer is used in a dusty environment, ink streaks may result due to a small accumulation of debris inside the printer.

Figure 3: Ink streaks

This debris can include dust, hair, carpet, or clothing fibers. Ink streaking is easily prevented or corrected by cleaning two areas of the HP Deskjet 900c series printer:

The HP Inkjet print cartridges.

The HP Inkjet print cartridge cradle.

Materials needed

Before starting, ensure that the following materials available:

Cotton swabs or any soft material that will not come apart or leave fibers (for example, a piece of clean cotton cloth, such as a handkerchief).

Distilled, filtered, or bottled water (tap water may contain contaminants that can damage the HP Inkjet print cartridges).

Scrap paper or paper towels to set the HP Inkjet print cartridges on.

CAUTION: Be careful not to get ink on hands or clothing

Remove the HP Inkjet print cartridges

Turn the HP Deskjet 900c series printer on and lift the printer’s top cover. The HP Inkjet print cartridges move to the center of the printer.

After the HP Inkjet print cartridges have moved to the center of the HP Deskjet 900c series printer, unplug the power cord from the back of the printer.

Remove the print cartridges and place them wide side down on a piece of paper.

WARNING: Keep new and used print cartridges out of the reach of children.

CAUTION: Once the HP Inkjet print cartridges have been removed, make sure that they are not outside of the HP Deskjet 900c series printer longer than 30 minutes.

Clean the HP Inkjet print cartridges

Grasp the top of the black HP Inkjet print cartridge.

Dip a clean cotton swab into distilled water and squeeze any excess water from the swab.

Clean the face and edges of the print cartridge as shown. Do not wipe the nozzle plate (see Figure 3.)

Figure 4: Cleaning the print cartridge

1 - Do not clean

2 - Clean

CAUTION: Be careful not to touch the ink nozzles on the bottom of the print cartridge or the copper contacts on the back of the print carriage. Touching these parts of the HP Inkjet print cartridge can result in clogs, ink failure, or bad electrical connection.

Hold the HP Inkjet print cartridge up to the light and inspect for fibers on the face and edges. If fibers are still present, repeat Steps 2 and 3.

Repeat Steps 1 through 4 with the Tri-Color HP Inkjet print cartridge using a clean, moistened cotton swab to avoid any contamination.

Clean the HP Inkjet print cartridge cradle

Assume an eye-level position with the HP Deskjet 900c series printer.

Locate the cradle that held the HP Inkjet print cartridges.

Using clean, moistened swabs, wipe the underside of each wall of the carriage where fibers may collect and come in contact with the paper (see Figure 4). Repeat until no ink residue is seen on a clean swab.

Figure 5: Cleaning the print cartridge cradle

Reinstall the HP Inkjet print cartridges

Reinstall the HP Inkjet print cartridges and close the top cover of the HP Deskjet 900c series printer.

Load white paper into the IN tray.

Reinsert the electrical power cord into the back of the HP Deskjet 900c series printer.

Print a test page by following the steps below:

If using Microsoft(R) Windows: Open the HP Deskjet 900c series Toolbox, click the Printer Services Tab, and Print a Test Page.

If using a Macintosh: Double-click the HP Deskjet 900 series Utility icon in the Utilities folder on the main directory of the hard drive. Click the Test tab, then the Test button.

If a network: Press and hold the RESUME button for approximately four seconds with the HP Deskjet 900c series printer on.

NOTE: If streaking still appears, repeat the procedure until the test printout is clean. Additional maintenance tips are available at http://www.hp.com/support/home_products.To get the best performance from the HP Deskjet 900c series printer, HP recommends using only genuine HP supplies for HP Deskjet printers. Damage resulting from the modification or refilling of HP print cartridges is specifically excluded from the coverage of HP printer warranties. The HP Inkjet print cartridge numbers for the HP Deskjet 900c series printer are: Black HP 51645 series and Tri-Color HP C6578 series.